Ata Gibor - Etz Yosef

אַתָּה גִבּוֹר לְעוֹלָם אֲדֹנָי

Unlike man who's strength ebbs as he gets older, Hashem's strength is forever in its fullness because weakness and fragility are due to the aging process which doesn't exist by Hashem; Hashem might is forever.

מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים אַתָּה רַב לְהוֹשִֽׁיעַ:

On the simple level, this bracha is referring to Hashem's strength He demonstrates by bringing rain to the world.

Etz Yosef offers another explanation on a deeper level, by first prefacing an enigmatic Gemara in Taanis.

The meaning of this Gemara is perplexing; what does it mean that salvation sprouts when it rains? Where have we found that after it rained that there was a wave of salvation that swept over the world?

Etz Yosef explains, the rain being discussed in this Gemara isn't the rain we experience from time to time, rather it is discussing the rain and dew of resuscitation ("Tel shel Techiya") which when it will fall, it will bring out the ultimate salvation during the resuscitation of the dead ("Techiyas HaMaysim").

Etz Yosef concludes that this concept is alluded to in three places in the davening liturgy.

1. This concept of the future and ultimate "rain" which will usher in the final salvation of the resuscitation of the dead is also alluded to in the deliberate placement of the words מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים אַתָּה רַב לְהוֹשִֽׁיעַ in quick succession to each other in order to add another layer on the the bracha to also be alluding to the future rain/dew which will sprout salvation during the resurrection of the dead.

2. These two words are also paired together in the Birchos Krias Shema of Shabbos to allude to this same message of the final salvation during the resurrection:

3. This concept can also be gleaned as a more esoteric understanding of a clause in this beracha:

According to the simple understanding, the beracha is referring to Hashem's display of strength by making the wind blow to push clouds to where they need to be and dispense their rain where He wants it. (See below)

But it can also be understood to be referring to this future Messianic rain*, in which the beracha is saying the following:

Hashed causes a wind to blow the dew of salvation into the clouds back into the clouds it was once in, and then allows the rain to fall and resurrect the dead.

Although the passuk describes rain, Chazal explain that the intention of rain in this passul is referring to the resuscitating dew that will be used in the time to come.

The interrelation between the wind and the rain is found in a passuk in Tehillim, upon which this clause is based on:

This is another aspect of how Hashem shows "might" in the falling of rain, because Hashem controls where every drop of rain will fall, and He coordinates the wind to blow to where the drops should fall, to not be too strong to blow it too far or not strong enough to carry to where He wants it to fall.

Hashem's might is undoubtedly seen during rainstorms and will be seen its most potent form during the eventual resuscitation of the dead. But in truth, even in our daily lives we can notice and appreciate displays of Hashem's strength.

מְכַלְכֵּל חַיִּים בְּחֶֽסֶד

Hashem constantly sustains the world with food and sustenance. Unlike clothes which can last for a year or two, food is something that Hashem provides constantly and we put our trust in Him for it every day.

This concept, that we are constantly dependent on Hashem for food is found in a passuk in Tehillim which says:

The word "give" is said in the present tense (nosein) as opposed to the past tense (nasan) to allude to this idea that Hashem giving sustenance is a constant gift from Hashem which we need to be especially grateful each and every time we eat.

בְּחֶֽסֶד

In the first explanation, the modifying word "with kindness" is stressing the particular kindness of sustaining the world with food which is a kindness that Hashem does on a consistent basis, to always have food ready for us, and therefore it is worthy of a special mention.

On this Gemara (which is also brought in Ein Yaakov on Pesachim) Etz Yosef proves that Hashem providing sustenance to the world is equal in its astoundingness to the splitting of the sea because of Hashem's incredible watchfulness (Hashgacha) to sustain the entire world.

Etz Yosef brings another explanation into this phrase "with kindness" as a praise to Hashem that even when our sins outweigh our merits in which according to strict justice we should not be sustained "in full", nevertheless out of His boundless kindness, He sustains the world with plentifulness.

The bracha now moves on to discuss techiyas hamaysim which was subtly referenced in the beginning of the beracha.

...מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים בְּרַחֲמִים

We say that Hashem will resusitate the dead "with mercy". In what aspect will Hashem demonstrate His mercy during techiyas hamaysim?

The answer is that Hashem will return the same body that the person had when he or she was alive. This is an act of mercy since technically He can resuscitate them in any body, but since a person "mourns" their body when they die, Hashem gives them back the body that they have been pining for.

The Etz Yosef brings proof to this from a passuk in Iyov 14:22, which the Gemara in Shabbos expounds to mean that when a person dies, the soul pines for its body.

רַבִּים

The word "with much mercy" implies that there is another mercy beyond the merciful act that Hashem will bring up the resuscitated into their original bodies. What is this extra display of mercy we are referring to here?

The Etz Yosef says that this is referring to the Chazal that says that when the resuscitated come back, they will come up clothed.

The beracha is thus saying that by techiyas hamaysim, not only will Hashem show mercy by bringing the dead back into their original bodies, but He will compound that mercy by bringing them back fully clothed.*

The beracha continues by detailing three other ways Hashem displays resuscitation-like actions in our daily lives. The first two go in ascending order of how Hashem's might is being displayed, and the third is a case of its own nature.

As with most of the text of Shemoneh Esrei, the clauses also mirror pesukim throughout Tanach.

The wording here mirrors the passuk in Tehillim which says:

The explanation here is also that even if a person "falls" sick to the extent where even doctors have given up hope, Hashem is the Almightly and He can "resuscitate" him to bring him back to good health.

Hashem has the power to resuscitate even if ones sickness deteriorates to the point where he is literally at the gates of death.* No matter how dire, it is never out of Hashem's capability to heal a person from an illness, no matter how advanced it is.

This mirrors a passuk in Tehillim which says:

A person who is jailed and totally inhibited from movement is also experiencing "death" on some level. Hashem can also release him from bondage to freedom, thus "resuscitating" him as well.

וּמְקַיֵּם אֱמוּנָתוֹ לִישֵׁנֵי עָפָר.

Just as Hashem shows great assurance to those who are still living, as we mentioned before, in the Time to Come He is also going to show His assurance to those who have died by bringing them back to life during techiyas hamaysim.

This clause mirrors a passuk found in the very last chapter of Sefer Daniel, where Daniel prophesies about the End of Days:

Up until this point we have firmly established that Hashem has the ultimate strength - the ability to resuscitate the dead.

However there have been isolated incidents throughout history, which we will enumerate below, where certain individuals also revived the dead.

This could potentially bring some people to have doubts as to Hashem holding all of the power over life and death and minimize His strength.

The next two clauses each come to highlight two specific qualities in the resuscitation that Hashem does versus what these people did, which affirm Hashem's unparalleled strength in the act of resuscitation.

The Gemara records a story in Avodah Zarah:

This story seems to clearly show that a person had the strength to resuscitate the dead.

However, if you look closely into the terminology employed by the Gemara it says, "he asked mercy from before Hashem and He resuscitated him."

We see that Rav Chanina didn't bring about the resuscitation - Hashem did. Rav Chanina's role was more similar to that of a son who insistently begs his father for something to which the father eventually relents and grants the son his wish.

It is with this foreground that we say "And who is like You Master of Strengths", in order to dispel the notion that man's resuscitation is similar to that of Hashem's, because as we see from the Gemara above, man's role is vastly insignificant to that of Hashem's, man can only ask Hashem to have mercy, but it is Hashem Who is the Master of the strength of resuscitation.

We see from here that the term "Baal" refers to the idea that the entity is self-sufficient and doesn't need external help. So too here, the idea that's being conveyed in these words, according to the Etz Yosef, is that Hashem's power to resuscitate is not dependent on another force, rather the power comes from Him and Him alone, unlike a person who needs to come on to a Hashem, an "External Force", in order to bring about the resuscitation.

The Gemara in Bava Kamma says:

We see from this Gemara that there is another limitation within man's ability to resurrect the dead, and that is a temporary because the person will again die.

By contrast, Hashem's resurrection can be a ressureation which the person can remain alive eternally, as Chazal say in the Gemara in Sanhedrin:

:מֶֽלֶךְ מֵמִית וּמְחַיֵּה וּמַצְמִֽיחַ יְשׁוּעָה

The end of the beracha embellishes on the latter advantage of Hashem's resurrection of it being eternal. Hashem is the King Who causes death and life and sprouts salvation - to last forever, without death necessarily following it.

The Etz Yosef explains this seasonal insertion said during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva (The Ten Days of Reprentence between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) based on how Rabbeinu Bachya says, tucked away in his commentary on the Torah. The passuk says:

וְנֶאֱמָן

Before Etz Yosef goes to explain the clause as a whole, he points out that the word "v'ne'eman" "And He is trustworthy" is employed because of the strong connection between "ne'emanus" (trustworthiness) and Techiyas HaMaysim, as evidenced in both Tanach and Midrashic literature.

The passuk in Eicha says:

On this passuk, the Medrash expounds:

In his commentary to Modeh Ani, Etz Yosef (in his peripheral commentary Anaf Yosef), explains how waking up in the morning from sleep proves that the future Techies HaMaysim is not so outlandish - we experience a microcosm of it every single day.

At the end of each day, a person goes to lies his weary eyes to rest and gives over his soul, as it were, to Hashem. In the morning, he wakes up, and he is refreshed and with renewed vitality.

Similarly, we believe, that the body, after a life well lived, he 'rests' in the ground, and the time will come when he is awoken to a renewed existence.

In other words, the process of being worn out, sleeping, and subsequently waking up with renewed strength, shares the same progression to the eventual prophecy that a dead person will arise from his decomposed "worn out" state and come back to life with vitality.